Mar. 18, 2014
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Blake Bortles and his girlfriend Lindsey Duke. / Twitter

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO - Blake Bortles found his bedroom Friday night much the way he had left it, unaware his roommates had been raiding his closet while he was training for the NFL draft in California.

Bortles is the big man on the University of Central Florida campus and perhaps the future No. 1 pick as he returns for Wednesday's pro day workout. But those who know the star quarterback best see it as their duty to make sure his head fits into the hat Roger Goodell hands him on draft day.

But Bortles is anything but. He's an archetypical pocket passer who casts the most impressive shadow of the draft's top passers at 6-5, 232 pounds. He threw for 25 touchdowns as a redshirt junior in 2013 and led the Knights past Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.

He's such a legend in these parts - a native of nearby Oviedo who stayed close to home in part because other schools wanted him to play tight end - that there were times the house Bortles shares with Worton, UCF center Joey Grant and two others off campus became a refuge.

"I thought that was good for Blake," Grant said. "Towards the end of the season, the excitement around UCF was awesome, but it was a little much."

That was before speculation picked up that the Houston Texans might pick Bortles first overall. It was before his girlfriend, Lindsey Duke, became Internet-famous and a tweet announcing his presence at Saturday's UCF spring practice was enough to bring out autograph seekers.

Today, Bortles will try to do what Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater couldn't two days earlier: put on a flawless performance in a scripted throwing session for NFL scouts and coaches, some of whom have seen enough on tape to label him a first-round draft pick.

"He's a guy that has the physical tools to be very well at the league," UCF coach George O'Leary told USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously, he did everything we needed him to do here."

O'Leary doesn't dismiss concerns about Bortles. He can improve his fundamentals, including posture and throwing mechanics. He has a tendency to stare down receivers at times.

"But I think that's what the next level's for," O'Leary said. "Most college quarterbacks are staring down something. When you look at the guys who make it in that league, consistently it's guys of his stature, because they can take a hit but they can also see. I think it'll work out."

So does Worton, who nonetheless makes a point of informing Bortles every time he hears something positive about his friend on TV, just to playfully shoot it down.

It works the other way, too, given how hard Bortles is on himself when things don't go right.

"He's his biggest critic," Worton said. "He'll be the first one in the film rooms, taking notes on himself, and he just kills himself on and off the field.

"We're the guys that have to level him out and be like, 'Yo, it's OK. We all make mistakes.'"

That's not to say Bortles lacks confidence. O'Leary points to the final drive of the Knights' upset of Bridgewater and then-No. 6 Louisville on Oct. 18 - 11 plays, 75 yards, capped by a 2-yard scoring strike to Jeff Godfrey with 23 seconds left - as Bortles' defining moment.

"At the goal line before that last touchdown pass, he kind of gave us a little smile and said, 'Let's go get this W,'" Grant said. "At that point, we kind of knew he was going to get the job done."

That drive surely stuck out to the Texans as they mull the No. 1 pick, with Bortles, Bridgewater and South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney in the mix.

Bortles should know his destination by the time he goes to bed May 8, the first night of the draft. That leaves Worton, Grant and company another seven weeks to borrow his clothes, watch him scarf frozen food off paper plates and answer any leftover questions about homework.

"He's easy to have around. He's fun, and he's goofy," Worton said. "Small-town kid out of Oviedo that most people wanted to play tight end. Look at him now. I can't wait to see what happens."